The annual World Airline Awards conferred by the U.K.’s Skytrax – based on input this year from almost 20 million participating global travelers – have something notably missing from their list of the world’s best economy class.

The list of the Top 20 economy class airlines doesn’t include a single U.S. carrier.

The reasons why are probably obvious to frequent travelers. Unlike many foreign carriers, U.S. airlines in recent years have focused on upgrading their front cabins, often at the expense of their rear cabins. (Full disclosure: The SkyTrax rankings only consider regular economy seating, not the premium economy or extra-legroom sections some U.S. carriers have added.)

We’ve run several articles in recent months about how the refitting of U.S. airlines’ economy cabins generally involves installing less-bulky “slim-line” seats (which many readers say are also less comfortable), stuffing in extra seat rows to increase revenue (often at the expense of legroom and seat width), and most recently deploying a “basic economy” pricing model that takes away most of the in-cabin amenities that economy travelers had come to expect as their right (like the right to put a carry-on bag in the overhead bin).

So maybe it should come as no surprise that travelers find more to like in the coach cabins of non-U.S. airlines.

Lufthansa’s economy class seating. (Image: Lufthansa)

For that matter, European airlines don’t fare very well in the listing either. The Top 20 list of economy classes includes only a single European winner – Lufthansa at number 10 (unless you count Turkish Airlines, since Turkey is in between Europe and Asia; Turkish ranked 11th).

All the other Top 20 winners are airlines from Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.

Economy class on a Qatar Airways widebody. (Image: Qatar)

“The Award for the world’s “Best Economy Class Airline” is a coveted quality distinction representing passenger satisfaction assessment of the front-line Economy Class product and staff service standards that airlines provide across both the cabin and airport environments,” Skytrax said.

First place in the Economy Class rankings went to Thai Airways, followed by Qatar Airways, Asiana, Garuda Indonesian and Singapore Airlines.

Thai notes on its website that its Economy Class product includes the following:

Choice of main meal with beverages, snacks and second meal service offered on international flights; snacks or light meals on domestic flights

Audio/Video On Demand available on A380s, 787s, 777-300s, 777-200ERs, A330-300s and 747s; shared cabin screens on other flights; WiFi available for a fee on the A380 and some A330s

Seat pitch of 31 to 34 inch with 122 to 133-degree recline

Blankets and pillows provided on international flights; eye shades and ear plugs available on request

Baggage allowance of no less than 20kg

Here’s a full list of the Top 20 Economy Class airlines:

Source: Skytrax

Looking only at specific Economy Class qualities, the survey’s listing of best seats went to Japan Airlines, followed in order by Asiana, Thai, Korean and Singapore. Tops in Economy Class catering was Thai, followed by Turkish Airlines, Asiana, Qatar and Japan Airlines.

How many airports have a koi pond? Singapore Changi does, in Terminal 3. (Image: Changi Airport)

The 2016 Skytrax World Airport Awards have been announced, based on an online survey of more than 13 million travelers from 106 countries, and the biggest news for U.S. airports is how poorly they performed relative to their foreign counterparts.

Once again, no U.S. airport made it into the list of the world’s top 10; in fact, not a single U.S. airport made it into the top 25. The highest-rated U.S. facility was Denver International, which came in 28th (up from 33rd in 2015). The only other U.S. airports in the top 50 were Cincinnati in 32nd place, San Francisco in 37th, and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson in 43rd place.

The top airport in North America was Vancouver, winning that spot for the seventh year in a row. Seattle-Tacoma took top honors for best airport staff in North America, while Denver was rated the top regional airport in North America.

But for the most part, airports in Asia and Europe dominated the rankings. Ranking first, second and third – the same order that they held in 2015 – were Singapore Changi (ranked first for the fourth year in a row), Seoul Incheon and Munich Airport. Tokyo Haneda rose from fifth place in 2015 to fourth this year, while Hong Kong dropped from fourth to fifth. Rounding out the top 10, in order, are Chubu Centrair Nagoya Airport in Japan; Zurich; London Heathrow; Kansai (Osaka) International in Japan; and Hamad Airport in Doha, Qatar (which jumped from 22nd place last year to tenth this year).

One of the best things about Tokyo Haneda is the big open air rooftop tarmac-viewing area. Wow! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The farther down you go in the rankings, the more U.S. airports turn up – e.g., Seattle, DFW and New York JFK ranked 54th, 58th and 59th, respectively, while Houston came in at 71st, Minneapolis-St. Paul 75th, Detroit 89th, LAX 91st and Boston Logan barely cracked the top 100 in 97th place.

Here’s the full listing of the top 100 airports for 2016, and their 2015 rankings.

Airport hotels were rated, too. The Crowne Plaza at Singapore Changi was named world’s best airport hotel. Regional winners included the Hilton Munich for Europe, Movenpick Hotel Bahrain for the Middle East, the Pullman Guangzhou for China and the Fairmont Vancouver for North America.

Readers: Are U.S. airports are getting a bad rap in these rankings, or are they really that much worse than their foreign counterparts? What’s your favorite airport worldwide?

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